Eli Manning gingerly made his way off the podium, his left ankle in a gray walking boot. He navigated through the bowels of MetLife Stadium with a pair of crutches under his arms.

The end came for Manning in a fitting fashion late in the second quarter of the Giants’ rain-drenched 20-6 victory over Washington on Sunday in their season-finale. The play on which it happened epitomized a season full of injuries and ineptness, which resulted in Manning playing behind a patchwork offensive line from the season-opener.

Late in the second quarter, Manning suffered a high-ankle sprain when he was rolled by Redskins defensive end Chris Baker as he threw the ball. Baker beat third-string left guard Dallas Reynolds on the play.

“I’m disappointed I couldn’t finish the game,” said Manning, who was sacked a career-high 39 times this season. “I obviously wanted to. The doctor said it won’t be a good decision. I don’t think I could’ve been very effective playing after the injury.”

“I just felt the guy kind of bend me back and I got my foot stuck underneath him. I know it was hurt a little bit at the time and was hoping it wasn’t worse. I’m very happy to hear it’s just a sprain.

Manning, whose Iron Man streak reach 151 consecutive games this season, said the injury will mainly require rest for a few weeks. He said he’ll be in the walking boot for a while.

When he does heal, he said he’s hoping Tom Coughlin is still his coach.

“I’m hoping he’s back and he wants to be back and the Giants want him back,” Manning said. “You never know how these things work out. I definitely hope he’s the coach of the Giants next year.”

Manning, who turns 33 next month, suffered through the worst season of his career. In addition to his career-high sacks and interceptions (27), his 57.5 completion percent was a career-low and his 18 touchdowns were his fewest since his rookie season.

"We'll look hard at this season and see if there's a common reason why we didn't have success, whether it's throws or just the offense in general, and try to talk to the coordinators and the coaches and try to figure out what's the best way to make improvements," Manning said.

"I have to look at something with my mechanics, look hard at it and try to figure out the best way to get back to playing at a high level and making good decisions.

Asked if it's simply a matter of getting better protection, Manning said no.

"I think it's a number of things - protection, I have to make better throws and decisions sometimes," he said. "The offense wasn't as sharp this year as we needed to be in a lot of areas."

After getting injured, Manning threw yet another interception on the next play, adding insult to injury. Limping and in obvious pain, Manning remained in the game despite not being able to put any weight on the injured ankle. His threw off one foot and was intercepted by cornerback Josh Wilson on a pass that bounced off the hands of tight end Brandon Myers.

"Obviously I would've liked to eliminate one interception on the year," he quipped. "I was hoping that sometimes you get an ankle, or you get something banged up and it goes away after a second so I stayed in. I tried to fit it in there and it was tipped and intercepted.”

The play on which Manning was injured was a snapshot of the season. On a first-and-10 from the Giants’ 44-yard line with 1:01 remaining in the second quarter, Baker beat Reynolds, who saw his first action of the season last week, playing three quarters against Detroit in relief of Brandon Mosley.

Against the Redskins, Reynolds was subbing for backup left guard James Brewer, who had left the game with an ankle injury.

That Manning survived the season until the final game was a testament to his toughness and durability. He never complained or begged out of the lineup despite the mounting injuries on the offensive line, which fielded seven different starting combinations this season.

"I don't think you're ever happy to see the season end, unless you win a championship," Manning said. "It was a tough year. We had a tough start to the season, but I'm proud of the way we started to end up finishing 7-9."